Crackdown on after-school tutoring classes strengthened
Parents wait outside a school of Xue'ersi, a subsidiary of Beijing-based tutoring company, the TAL Education Group, in Shanghai on November 13. Xue'ersi has stopped all tutoring courses for primary and middle school students, and offers STEM and art training.
China will beef up its crackdown on after-school tutoring classes, especially those done in a concealed or disguised way, to reduce the burden on students, announced China's education authority on Tuesday.
Off-campus tutoring "in a concealed or disguised form" means running the classes in places such as residential buildings, hotels or cafes, or under non-academic names, such as summer/winter camps and art training, according to China's education ministry.
Beijing Xinyuan Beibei Housekeeping Company was investigated on January 29 after it organized tutoring under the name of a winter camp, according to the Shunyi District government.
Avatar Education and Training Center in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, was blacklisted when they were caught illegally organizing off-campus tutoring in hotels on July 11, according to Sichuan Radio and Television.
The practice is expected to be brought under control by June 2023 and will be completely eliminated by June 2024 to ease the burden of excessive homework and off-campus tutoring for students undergoing compulsory education, the notice said.
